~ USA Today: "The combination of alleged mass murder and regulatory failure" that allowed Gosnell's clinic to operate for years "warrants national coverage" by the media, but "[w]hat it doesn't warrant ... is major changes in national abortion policy," the editorial states. The editorial notes that advocates on both sides of the abortion-rights debate are attempting to use the trial to advance their cause. Abortion-rights opponents have used the case to push for more stringent laws, while abortion-rights advocates have argued that the incident is a product of overly restrictive policies that made other options for abortion care unavailable or too costly. "All these arguments have weaknesses," the editorial contends, adding, "Aside from the obvious -- that regulators should do their jobs, and that criminal doctors should be harshly prosecuted -- it's hard to say what else should be concluded from the Gosnell case" (USA Today, 4/18).

~ Lila Rose, USA Today: In order to "prevent another Kermit Gosnell," Rose -- founder and president of the antiabortion-rights group Live Action -- recommends "more regulation of the abortion industry and more enforcement of existing regulations." She urges more states to pass laws regulating abortion clinics like hospitals, mandating that only physicians can perform abortions and increasing reporting requirements. However, she contends that "they won't be enough ... because no amount of regulation or oversight can change the fact that an abortionist will always be an abortionist." She concludes, "No matter how many laws are passed, and how strictly they are enforced, it won't be enough until we realize that America's women and smallest children need something more, they deserve something far better, than abortion" (Rose, USA Today, 4/18).

Video Round Up

An Interview with Justice Ginsburg on the State of Abortion Access

In a rare interview, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg tells MSNBC's Irin Carmon it is a "crying shame" that state abortion restrictions are making the procedure increasingly "[i]naccessible" to many low-income women. Watch the video

Datapoints

A Look at Abortion Coverage in the ACA's Marketplace Plans, Repro Health Report Card, More

This week's charts depict why abortion coverage is unavailable in many states' ACA marketplace plans for 2015. We also feature a national reproductive health report card and an interactive look at abortion restrictions in Missouri. Read more

At A Glance

"[Roe v. Wade] protects a woman's freedom to make her own choices about her body and her health, and reaffirms a fundamental American value: that government should not intrude in our most private and personal family matters."

— President Obama, commemorating the 42nd anniversary of Roe v. Wade. Read more